 A Sydney-based terror suspect, who jumped bail and fled Australia on a false passport, appeared before a Lebanese military tribunal Wednesday to face charges of planning terrorist attacks and forging official documents. Jordanian-Australian Saleh Jamal, 29, testified alongside Lebanese-Australian, Haithem Melhem, 28, from Dinniyeh, and Australian Zuheir Mohammed Issa, both accused of assisting Jamal. Jamal was arrested on May 8, 2004 at Beirut International Airport on his way to Paris by Lebanese secret services, acting upon information provided by Australian authorities. The suspect was traveling on a false Australian passport, under the name of "Ahmad Kak." Although the precise nature of the terrorist attacks he is accused of having planned to perpetrate in Lebanon and Syria remains unclear, Jamal has admitted to meeting with the Sunni extremist group Usbat al-Ansar (Band of Partisans) during his stay in Lebanon.
| Usbat al-Ansar is reported folded into Jund al-Sham, which is now supposed to be nearly defunct, although there are apparently enough of them left for today's shoot-em-up... |
Usbat al-Ansar, which operates out of the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in South Lebanon - a no-go area for local authorities - is composed primarily of Palestinians associated with Osama Bin Laden. The group's area of operations has so far been limited to Lebanon, with a series of attacks conducted in the 1990s here.
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Flanked by an assistant lawyer and a translator, a defiant Jamal denied the terrorist conspiracy charges against him, changed previous statements made under interrogation and displayed an irreverent attitude toward the President of the Court, General Safi al-Din, on more than one occasion. Having previously testified to having been brought to Ain al-Hilweh by Issa, Jamal retracted his statement under interrogation Wednesday, after Issa denied any involvement in the matter before the President of the Court. "You told the court last time that Issa brought you to the camp," Safi al-Din said. "I lied," said Jamal. "So if he didn't take you there, who did?" Din asked. "A NASA spaceship," replied Jamal.
| He'll look nice with a neck that's three feet long, won't he? |
According to the military tribunal's investigative report, Jamal previously admitted during interrogation that he had received military training for three weeks in Ain al-Hilweh, before leaving the camp for Syria to deliver "a package" for Isbat al-Ansar. Jamal's Syria visit coincides with the time of a terrorist attack that took place in Damascus in late April 2004, when a shoot-out occurred between Syrian security forces and unknown assailants. Jamal rejects any involvement in the incident, claiming he only performed a service for one of Isbat al-Ansar's camp leaders, Abu Tarek, in exchange for refuge. Upon returning to the camp, he claims he had a disagreement with Abu Tarek, and therefore decided to go to Europe. In court on Wednesday, Jamal insisted that he was desperate and solely working on trying to find shelter somewhere in Lebanon. |